Men's Basketball Falls to Newberry
The Lions lost to Newberry 99-93 in South Atlantic Conference men’s basketball action Wednesday night in Stanford Arena
MARS HILL, N.C. – The Lions lost to Newberry 99-93 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Wednesday night in Stanford Arena. Mars Hill fell to 5-5 overall and 1-3 in the league. The Wolves improved to 8-3 on the season, 3-2 in the SAC.
Justin Yeargin and Michael Carson led the Lions scoring 23 and 22 points in the contest, respectively. Brandon McCarter added 12 points while Patrick Monroe rounded out the double-digit scorers for Mars Hill with 11 points. Mars Hill shot 41.9% (31-74) from the field, 36.1% (13-36) from 3-point range and 69.2% (18-26) from the foul line. MHU scored 21 points off of 19 Newberry miscues.
Xavier Holmes led all scorers with 33 points. Holmes also pulled down 10 rebounds. Mitch Riggs followed with 18 points and seven boards while Brandon Taylor tallied 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Wolves hit 50% of their shots from the floor (36-72), 15.8% (3-19) from behind the arc and 80% (24-30) at the free throw line. Newberry out rebounded the Lions 53-37, scored 64 points in the paint and received 60 points from their bench.
A layup by Holmes with 15:14 left in the first half gave Newberry a 17-11 lead. Mars Hill then scored nine unanswered points to take a 20-17 advantage with 12:39 left in the first period after Carson hit a shot inside. Newberry then went on a 27-15 run over the next nine minutes of play to lead 44-35 with 3:29 left in the first frame. A 3-pointer by Carson cut the Wolves lead to four points (44-40) with 2:19 on the clock but Newberry outscored MHU 6-2 to end the scoring in the first half and head into the break leading by eight points (50-42) after Holmes scored in the lane with 49 seconds left in the first period.
Newberry would not relinquish their lead in the second half. The Wolves enjoyed their largest lead of the game of 11 points (71-60) at the 9:12 mark after James Stepp hit a layup. A 10-3 run by the Lions cut the deficit to just four points with 6:46 left in the game after Valentine Bauer made a shot from behind the arc. A 3-pointer by Carson with 4:29 left in regulation trimmed the Wolves lead to three points (83-80) but the Lions could not get any closer down the stretch. Mars Hill was forced to foul in the final minute of play and Newberry sealed the win going 10-12 at the foul line.
Mars Hill will host Queens in Stanford Arena on Saturday, December 19. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.